The document outlines the Credit Accumulation and Transfer Scheme (CATS) used by the university. It discusses (1) how credits are weighted and equated to student learning hours, (2) how modules are assigned levels, (3) the credit structures required for different qualifications, (4) assessment methods, (5) how qualifications can be awarded, and (6) limits on credit that can be transferred from other institutions.

1. Credit Accumulation and Transfer Scheme
1. Credit
(i) Credit Weighting
In accordance with the Modular Initial Degree Regulations, a single modular
unit of study is weighted at 10 credits and a year of full-time study is
weighted at 120 credits for Honours and General degrees and at 100 for
Ordinary degrees.
For Modular Postgraduate Schemes a year of full-time study is weighted at
180 credits.
(ii) Notional Hours
1 credit equates to 10 notional hours of student learning which includes
contact time, directed and independent study, and assessment.
On this basis, a full-time Honours student would accumulate 120 credits
within a 1200-hour academic year and a full-time taught Master's Student
180 credits within an 1800-hour academic year.
A specification of 1 credit equating to 10 notional hours of learning enables
articulation between the two credit systems in further and higher education.
The above specifications also bring the University CAT Scheme into line
with the credit framework proposed by the Higher Education Credit Initiative
Wales (HECIW)
(iii) General and Specific Credit
General credit is the total amount of credit a student possesses by virtue of
his/her prior learning. Specific credit is that proportion of the total credit
possessed by a student which is accepted by an admitting Institution as being
directly relevant to the qualification for which the student is being admitted.
In terms of credit transfer, all the general credits possessed by a student are
eligible for consideration.
The identification of specific as opposed to general credits will be at the
discretion of the admitting Institution in accordance with the provisions of
the University CAT Scheme.
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2. 2. Level of Modular Unit of Study
In accordance with the Modular Initial Degree Regulations, a level is assigned to
a unit of study as a means of defining the position which it occupies in the
curriculum or degree scheme. It will therefore be determined by consideration of
the award to which a particular scheme is leading and any prior learning required
by the student taking the unit. On this basis, a unit of study may be designated at
different levels in different schemes of study. (Learning outcomes will be
indicative of and appropriate to the level concerned).
(A) Undergraduate
Levels are defined in the Modular Initial Degree Regulations as follows :
Level 0 Units studied in the preliminary/foundation year leading to entry to
an initial degree scheme. Units at this Level shall not contribute to
the final degree award.
Level 1 Units typically studied in the first year of a full-time degree scheme
or the equivalent. Units at this Level shall contribute only
exceptionally to the final degree award.
Level 2 Units typically studied in the second year of a full-time degree
scheme or the equivalent. Units at this level may contribute to the
final degree award.
Level 3 Units typically studied in the third and/or final year of a standard
full-time degree scheme or the equivalent. The units should be at a
level appropriate to the award of an initial degree, at the Honours
level where appropriate.
Level 4 Units typically studied in the fourth and/or final year of an
extended full-time degree scheme or the equivalent. The units
should be at a level appropriate to the award of an initial degree, at
the Honours level where appropriate.
(Level Descriptors, as drafted by HECIW, have been circulated to institutions
as a guide in formulating more detailed definitions of the levels of study
involved at all stages of an undergraduate programme).
(B) Postgraduate
For modular Taught Master's schemes, it is recommended that a minimum of
two thirds of the taught component be studied at M Level. Such units should
normally require pre-requisite knowledge and skills which are of initial
degree level or its equivalent.
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3. A Level M descriptor, as drafted by HECIW, has been circulated to
institutions as a guide in formulating a more detailed definition of this
module type.
3. Credit Accumulation Structure
(i) General Principles
The University CAT Scheme provides for the award of the qualifications set
out below by the accumulation of credit points. Undergraduate and
postgraduate schemes of study, with staged progression from lower to higher
qualifications, may be constructed on the basis of this framework. The credit
points required for the award of these qualifications may be accumulated
through the satisfactory completion of the relevant schemes of study, or part
thereof as appropriate.
(A) Undergraduate
Certificate of Higher Education
Diploma of Higher Education
Initial Degree
(B) Postgraduate
Postgraduate Certificate
Postgraduate Diploma
Master's Degree
The staged-award structure is not compulsory for all undergraduate and
postgraduate schemes of study. Institutions may adopt various approaches.
For example, a Master's degree scheme could lead to the Master's
qualification only, or the Postgraduate Diploma and Master's, or all three
postgraduate qualifications.
Students who leave a scheme of study with or without an exit-point
qualification may, at the discretion of the institution, be permitted to re-enter
the scheme at the appropriate point provided that they have not previously
attempted and failed the higher qualification after exhausting all rights of
retrieval and subject to the time limits for the completion of the scheme of
study.
The Certificate and Diploma, at both the undergraduate and postgraduate
levels, can also be used as qualification aims in their own right. All such
awards, as well as the final degree qualifications, will be made by the
University.
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4. (ii) Structures
A. Undergraduate
The following structure is based on the Modular Initial Degree
Regulations requiring students to pursue credits as follows:-
Credit and Level Qualification Full-time study
equivalent
not less than 120 credits at Certificate of Higher Year 1 of full-time
Level 1 Education Initial Degree
not less than 240 credits, Diploma of Higher Year 2 of full-time
incl. at least 120 at Level 2 Education Initial degree
not less than 300 credits, Degree (Ordinary) Year 3 of full-time
incl. at least 60 at Level 3 Initial degree
not less than 360 credits, Degree (Honours and Year 3 of full-time
incl. at least 120 at Level 3 General) Initial degree
(Initial degrees may contain credits at Level 4 as specified in the
Modular Initial Degree Regulations)
The time limits for completion of an initial degree, including any exit-
point qualifications, as set out in the Modular Initial Degree Regulations,
are :
(excluding any preliminary/foundation year)
Full-time mode
3-year scheme : not more than 5 years from the start of the scheme
4-year scheme : not more than 6 years from the start of the scheme
Other modes of study
not less than 4 and not more than 10 years from the start of the scheme.
B. Postgraduate
The following structure is based on the Regulations for Modular
Master's Degrees which require students to pursue credits as follows:-
Credits Qualification
not less than 60 Postgraduate Certificate
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5. not less than 120 Postgraduate Diploma
not less than 180 at least 60 Master's degree
of which is the dissertation
In accordance with University Regulations, within a Master's degree
scheme, the Postgraduate Diploma (incorporating a Postgraduate
Certificate as appropriate) is the taught element with the dissertation
being the Master's stage.
The time limits for completion of a Master's degree scheme, including
any exit-point qualifications, as set out in the Regulations for Modular
Master's Degrees, are:
Full-time candidates Full-time candidates Part-time candidates
on 1-year schemes on 2-year schemes
not less than 12 months not less than 24 months not less than 24 months
not more than 2 years not more than 3 years not more than 5 years
4. Assessment
Assessment and award of qualifications will be in accordance with provisions in :
- the relevant University Regulations;
- institutions' own conventions; and
- regulations of the particular scheme of study.
(A) Undergraduate
Students may be graded on a variety of scales. To ensure comparability in
the measurement of students' relative success in achieving their credits and to
facilitate accreditation of prior study both within and outside the University,
the following table is suggested as a general conversion scale for
undergraduate awards.
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6. Grade Scale Percentageϑ Degree
Points Result
16 5(A) >80 First Class Honours
15 >77 <80
14 >74 <77
13 >70<74
12 4(B) >67 <70 Upper Second
Class Honours
11 >64 <67
10 >60 <64
9 3(C) >57 <60 Lower Second
Class Honours
8 >54 <57
7 >50 <54
6 2(D) >47 <50 Third Class
Honours
5 >44 <47
4 >40 <44
3 1(E) >35 <40 Pass Degree
Pass Degree
2 0(F) >30 <35 Fail
1 <30
ϑ > = at or above
< = below
Notwithstanding the grade point provision, it is recommended that
assessment and classification of awards should be percentage-based, to take
account of the single University percentage-banded classification scale for
modular Honours degrees.
(B) Postgraduate
There is currently no University grading scale for postgraduate awards. The
term `Distinction' is used to mark excellent performance by candidates for
Master's degrees and is set at 70% or above. The University's Working
Group on Modularisation and Semesterisation has recommended a minimum
module pass mark of 40% for the award of credit at Postgraduate Diploma
level, with an overall average of at least 50% in order to proceed to the
dissertation stage. The matter remains under discussion.
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7. 5. Awards
Normally, the lower qualification (of certificate or diploma) should not be
awarded automatically to students who fulfil the requirements for that
qualification irrespective of whether or not they proceed directly to the next stage
of the scheme, ie as `intermediate awards', but only to those qualified students
who :
- leave while part way through the scheme (exit-point awards); or
- have completed the scheme but failed the higher qualification (fall-back
awards).
Where more than one qualification is awarded, the final (terminal) certificate
document should be endorsed to indicate that the higher level award incorporates
any intermediate or exit-point qualification which might previously have been
awarded. Implicit in this decision is the assumption that certificates would be
issued for intermediate/exit-point qualifications.
6. Credit Transfer
(i) Conditions for Accreditation
The following rules relate to the assessment of prior learning for credit :
- credit may be assessed on the basis of prior study, prior experiential
learning and work-based learning;
- units of prior study may be accepted in part in the case of successfully
completed modules of which only a proportion is deemed relevant by
the admitting institution;
- the level at which credit is accepted is to be determined by the admitting
institution. Thus Level 3 prior study may be accredited at Level 2 only;
- the student's level of performance (in terms of grade/marks) in the
transferred-in credits is accepted and, where appropriate, counts as
contributing towards the award;
- credits are transferred in units of not less than 5;
- the question of whether or not the accrued credits for prior study remain
valid in relation to the scheme of study to which the student is being
admitted is a matter for the admitting Institution to determine, subject to
the overall time limits for completion of schemes of study;
- credits already counted towards an undergraduate qualification are not
allowed to count towards a postgraduate qualification.
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8. (ii) Transfer Limits
A. Undergraduate
In accordance with the Modular Initial Degree Regulations, the limits
are:
Honours, General and Ordinary Degrees
A maximum of 240 relevant credits; where the maximum transferable
credit allowed has been accepted, the remaining credits to be pursued at
the admitting Institution should normally be at Level 3 or above.
Certificates and Diplomas
Certificate 80 credits
Diploma 160 credits
(where the maximum transferable credit allowed has been accepted, the
remaining credits to be pursued at the admitting Institution should
normally be at Level 2 or above).
B. Postgraduate
In accordance with the Regulations for Modular Master's Degrees, the
limits are :
Postgraduate Certificate 30 credits
Postgraduate Diploma 60 credits
Master's degree 120 credits
Admission with academic credit should be subject to the same principles
as admission to the beginning of a scheme of study and is governed by
University/Institution scheme entry requirements, as appropriate.
Where applicants with a particular qualification are to be admitted
regularly with a standard amount of credit, such arrangements should be
formalised in the regulations for the scheme concerned. For
undergraduate schemes, the arrangements will be approved by the
Institution concerned in accordance with the University’s Regulations.
This will also be the case for postgraduate schemes within overall limits
stipulated by University Regulations.
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